"How easy! And what a delightful way to discharge your source. And how easy to collect it and use it! There's no telling how much power I'll get out of you, but I suspect my power should easily double, perhaps even quadruple... and you'll be left with just about enough juice to take the Transit home..." And with that she laughed merrily and moved off to a bench that had been lost in the shadows.
She watched from the cot as the woman hummed and giggled and pulled down flasks from the shelves and carefully placed each one before her. More bottles and jars and boxes joined the array before she went back to the book and carefully noted the steps and procedures.
Several hours later, her wrists aching and chilled to the bone, she watched in horror as the woman turned from the bench and approached. In her left hand was a dark vial and in the other a strange object of unknown origin and purpose.
"You see, your energy is stored inside your body and I will have it. I will have it and also your ability to store it. You should just lie back and enjoy the process... What is your name again?"
Name? My name? What is my name?!
"Scythia! That's it!" And she resumed her explanation. "Scythia, your arrival is truly a blessing. I've been working for years to accumulate enough power to apparate and at the rate I've been going it will take many more years, much longer than I can endure! The master comes and goes, and I'm kept like an animal, doing his bidding and all the while he's teaching me nothing!
"But now I shall be able to join him as an equal and then he'll realize that I am worthy of the Bestowments. And you, whatever you had in mind when you arrived, will have nothing..."
"Please don't hurt me! I have done nothing to you!"
"What do you know about that? Your memory is as blank as your future."
"But what did I ever do then!?"
"You accumulated a lot of power, Scythia. Yummy, delicious and wonderful power."
"Are you a witch?"
"I am an apprentice. Witchcraft is for silly girls and when it comes to silly, you are the epitome of it. The master sent you here and gave you the spells to open doors and even open the book that sent us here. I had no idea he'd be so clever and deceptive. And I suspect he was about to betray me after a decade of service and hard work, else why would you be summoned..."
She set down the device and reached toward Scythia. She flicked at a bare nipple and then without so much as a word grabbed and twisted it until the sharp pain forced a gasp and then a scream from her victim's lips.
"There-there, Scythia. I thought you might enjoy that!"
Then her hand moved to squeeze her nose. Scythia fought as best she could but after a few minutes she had to get some air to breathe. And when her mouth opened, the apprentice jammed the strange device down her throat. Scythia gagged and fought for air, but it was for naught. And as she began to black out, the vial was emptied into the funnel opening of the device and it poured into her gullet without spilling a drop.
"This concoction will relax your body and at the same time bring your physical senses to a higher level. It's a powerful aphrodisiac with a twist... You'll be paralyzed and at the same time become completely receptive to
special manipulations
."
The serum worked quickly, and sure enough Scythia was unable to lift a finger. She couldn't even gag as the funnel was removed despite the reflexive sensations that flooded her brain. Had she not been utterly helpless and at the mercy of a person that threatened to steal something from her body, she might have enjoyed the dichotomy of heightened awareness and total paralysis. Instead anxiety drove her thoughts into utter chaos and doubt.
"This will not take long and then we'll see about getting you on that bus. The next step is to stimulate you." Hands moved gently and swiftly across her breasts, along her belly, and then between her legs. Fingers moved into her most intimate places and sensations began to build, sensations that did not belong in this place, at this time, with this person.
"Yes, you are going to enjoy this despite the stench of your fear and your revulsion at being tied like a human sacrifice. I'm going to stimulate you until your body cannot sustain its containment of that power I need. And when I suck that power out of you, we'll be finished and you can be off; older, emptier, and perhaps wiser."
Scythia lay still, staring up into the darkness. As warm hands plied across her soft skin a tingling began inside her that she normally would abstain from. How long had it been since she last experienced an orgasm? Months? Years? Her memories were lost in an onslaught of sublime sensations. Soon there was only the sensation of imminent release and having no means to derail it or diffuse it, she began peaking. For countless hours she was played until she was too drained even to remain conscious.
A long loud scream jolted her back to the waking world. It was followed by weeping and then by silence. Exhaustion weighed upon every cell in her body. Moments later she fell into an oblivious dreamless sleep.
After some time, she awakened and noticed there was indeed a high vaulted ceiling and that she was inside a room of cathedral-like proportions. It may have been a cavern hewn from deep inside the earth or a vaulted ceiling built by men, but there was not enough light to make out the details. As sleep tugged at her again, a large face appeared above her and she was jolted back to life when it spoke.
A deep husky and somehow familiar voice filled the chamber. "Well, that didn't go as planned, Scythia, and I'm not sure how you did this to me, but when I find out, we'll settle things between us for good!"
"I did nothing to you and I want nothing to do with you! Release me! Please!"
"Master is going to punish me and for that I'm going to punish you."
Scythia shook with fear at the look in those eerie oversized eyes. Clearly, she was large enough to tear her apart or do any manner of terrible things to her. Instinctively she muttered a spell of protection, but a giant hand covered her face and began to suffocate each syllable until she stopped.
"None of that, little one. Now to think up a proper and fitting reward for your counter-curse or whatever it was that changed me into this!" And with that said she stood, towering high above her bound victim, and strode to a wall that had been in shadows but now flashed into light. Scythia gasped at the sight of her for she had to be over thirty feet tall.
"I cannot read them! And I don't have a glass to enlarge them!" She spun about, steaming in frustration. "Ah, well, looking down at you, perhaps your punishment will be to simply leave you as you are. I am a giant and you are truly puny."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Can't you tell? I grew larger and you... are small. I'm guessing you've shrunk by about a third."
"I've shrunk?" She pulled at the ropes again and suddenly they unraveled.
The giant reached for her, but now freed she slipped to the floor and dove under the bench.
"You can run, but you cannot hide. We are in the secret library of Aetluvius and there is no door, no exit; we're trapped."
Scythia shouted back to her, reaching out with her senses to find some semblance of an exit. "Trapped? We're trapped? How did you expect to get out of here?"
The apprentice nodded as she realized her words betrayed her. "Perhaps it is time to form a truce... With your power I could have easily apparated to anywhere in the world. But somehow your protections and personal power transmuted me into this, and my shape-shifting powers seem to be inadequate to restore me to normal."
"Restore my powers and I will help you."
The giant laughed in reply. "Sadly, considering our circumstances, I cannot trust you."
"You said I am a witch. Restore my powers and I promise to help you and without penalty."
"There's nothing I can do about it now. I cannot read the books."
"I can!"
The apprentice laughed. "Without your powers you can't even read English anymore. We are trapped and until the master comes for us, we're stuck with each other." And with that the giantess sat down heavily on the stone floor and wept.
Scythia stood and got her bearings. Could it be this giant pain in the arse couldn't escape, but that perhaps she could? She quickly moved along the entire perimeter of the chamber and in a matter of a few minutes knew this was indeed a tomb.
"So, what is your name then?"
"I haven't decided to tell you that yet."
"Then who is your master?"
"You'll know soon enough."
Scythia frowned and moved back toward the cot. She found one book that looked vaguely familiar, but upon opening it, the writing was indecipherable. Other books seemed to be written in the same language, others less similar, but nothing was recognizable. If only she was a witch! Then she could cast a spell to improve her reading skills.
"Why don't you cast a spell so I can read these?"
"Because I lost my fekkin powers, ya dumb witch!"
"You've lost your fekking powers, have ya?" And Scythia almost began laughing but she was far too leery of the giant losing control than fond of laughing at another's misfortunes. "Well how'n hell are we going to get out of here then?"
"I reckon it's that chain you wear about your waist," the giantess began, switching off her tears. "Where'd you get it?"
"You took away my fekking memory, remember?"
The giantess glared at her, but resumed her train of thought. "Maybe it still serves you and you only have to ask it."
"Talk to it?"
"Aye, it would have to be more like a spell..."
Scythia glared back at her. Then she reached down and pulled at the belly chain, exploring its links and looking for the fastener. The clasp was an odd barrel-shaped affair that refused to open. Having noted several stones attached to the chain, she pulled it around her waist and inspected each one. There were five different stones of very similar size, each a different color and each one cut beautifully to reflect its various hues with shimmering sparkles. Five stones for a witch probably made a lot of sense, but she couldn't imagine why.
"Is there no way to call out, to contact him in some way? You realize we must get out of here and whether I regain my memory or not, I want to get away from you."
The giantess pouted, her moue so very uncharacteristic of a bully of epic proportions that Scythia made a double-take.
"My name is Gillian."
Scythia nodded in acknowledgement. "You have to think of something, Gillian. Tell me the spell and I'll try to reverse it. Maybe we have enough power to do it again."
"Maybe, but when we get back he'll kill me. Can't say I didn't try though! If he turns me into a cat, you'll know I'm a goner."
"I doubt that anyone would do such a thing. Surely, he'll mock you for the fool you are, but he's no reason to inflict anything nearly so harsh."
"Oh, he'll do that and more. I've seen him doing them in... them while they're transfigured into birds or animals. Never cross the master, that's what I should have remembered... That's what I always say."
"Enough of this malarkey, Gillian." And as suddenly as his words clashed with their conversation, the master was standing there beside them. His build was larger than average, and his face and features were both mature and manly, as Scotsman are wont to be. His dress was more that of a businessman than wizard, at least to Scythia's eyes, except for the black boots that nearly reached his knees. He set his cane down and leaned it against the desktop before continuing. "And what manner of business do you have here in my library with my guest?"
